Process for producing beryllium alloys



Patented Dec. 24, 1935 I UNITED STATES 2,025,615 PROCESS FOR raonucme BERYLLIUM ALLOYS Wilhelm Rohn, Hanau-on-tlre-Main, Germany,

assignor to Heraeus-Vacuumschmelze, A. (3., Hanau-on-the-Main, Germany No Drawing.

Application December 6, 1934,

Serial No. 756,331. In Germany December 8,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a process for producing beryllium alloys of the general type referred to in my prior application No. 710,730, filed February 10th, 1934.

Briefly, the process of said prior applicationexample, as silica and alumina, in addition to the beryllium oxide. Thus, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to employ pure beryllium oxide when producing either an alloy containing beryllium and the metal of the molten bath only, or beryllium, the metal of the molten bath, and one or more of the additional ingre; dients of the particular ore being used.

The invention has-as a further object a series of process steps by means of which the content of the several ingredients of the alloy being produced may be controlled. 7

The molten bath which I may employ in ac cordance with this invention may consist of any metal into which carbon may be dissolved, such, for example, as a metal of the iron group (iron, nickel, cobalt and manganese),'a metal of the chromium group (chromium, molybdenum, tungsten and uranium), or a heavy metal such as copper.

As examples of the beryllium containing ores or materials which I may employ, mention might be made of phenacite (essentially consisting of beryllium oxide and silicic acid), chrysoberyl (essentially consisting of beryllium oxide and aluminum oxide), and euclase (containing beryllium oxide, aluminum oxide and silicic acid). Several examples are given herebelov to illustrate the manner in which the invention may be practiced.

Assume, for example, that it is desired to produce a beryllium-iron alloy. Since it is not necessary, according to the present invention, to employ pure beryllium oxide, this particular al-' loy may be produced from an ore containing, for example, beryllium oxide and silica. The molten bath, of course, would be composed of iron and the carbon would be dissolved in the bath, and the ore in question brought into reaction with the bath under a reduced partial pressure of oxygen. By this procedure, in temperature ranges between from about 1400 to 1600", the silica is first reduced by the carbon contained in the bath, the beryllium oxide remaining 'in' the slag. After reduction of the silicic acid or at least a major portion thereof, the operator may 5 slag cfi or pour out the molten metal which contains the reduced silicon and thereafter bring the remaining slag into reaction with a new carbon containing molten bath for a further reaction at I a somewhat higher temperature, for example, between about 1800 and 2000". In this way, phenacite, containing beryllium oxide and silicic acid, may be employed in the production of an iron-beryllium alloy.' The above example, of course, may also be carried out with other base metals and/or other ores.

If desired, reaction may sometimes be accelerated by the use of carbon in the slag as well as in the metal bath and, in some instances, it may suflice to introduce the carbon only with the slag, specially with copper and similar metals which are not able to dissolve carbon.

According to another example given just below, an alloy containing ingredients in addition to beryllium and the metal of the bath, may also be produced.

Assume, for example, that a commercially common beryllium ore. is employed, such as one containing from about 62% to 66% silicic acid, from about 10% to 18% beryllium oxide, and from about 16% to about 25% aluminum oxide. This ore may be used more or less directly to form an alloy containing, for example, about 8.75% .silicon,- 1.75% beryllium, and 3.50% aluminum. The remainder of this alloy may comprise copper which, of course, would be used as the molten bath. In this case the ore is merely reduced in the presence of carbon, in vacuo or in a hydrogenous atmosphere. The copper, of course, takes up the reduced metals and the desired alloy is produced. e

A similar alloy having approximately the same ratio between the silicon, beryllium and aluminum but being more predominantly copper, may also be produced more or less directly from common commercially availableores. For instance, the copper may be'increased to say from to 97%, in which event the alloy is particularly suitable for mechanical parts subject to sliding friction, as for instance bearing surfaces of rolling mills, and springs oi light switches. It is at present recognized that beryllium-copper alloys and beryllium silicon-copper alloys are considerably improved for certain purposes by precipitation or age hardening. I have found that the presence of alminum is not only not harmful in an alloy of this type but, on the contrary, is useful in increasing the capacity of the alloy to improve through precipitation or age hardening.

In considering a third example of how the process may be carried out, it is noted that for some uses it may be desired to form an alloy in which the content of silicon, beryllium and aluminum is in a different ratio than found in the ore used as initial material. In such cases I contemplate the use of an ore which, in addition to the beryllium, contains either silicon or aluminum, or both. In accordance with the invention, such an ore is subjected to fractional reduction in a manner similar to that referred to above, i. e., a part of the silicon oxide is reduced in the presence of a metal bath at temperatures between about 1400" and 1600. The silicon containing metal bath is then poured off, after which the remainder of the ore (now impoverished as to silicon oxide) is reduced at a higher temperature, for example in the neighborhood of from 1800' to 2000".

In accordance with the above, the same ore may be employed for the formation of an alloy of the content refererd to in the second example above (containing 8.75% silicon, 1.75% beryllium and 3.50% aluminum, which is in the ratio of 5 to 1 to 2), or to form an alloy in which the silicon, beryllium and aluminum are as 1 to l to 2. This latter type of alloy (in which the silicon content has been reduced) is superior to phosphor bronze in its mechanical characteristics, especially if the silicon content is kept between approximately .5% and 2%.

In connection with the above it may be noted that, if desired, different metal baths may be used in the various stages of the reduction, so lon as the bath for the last stage is composed of a metal with which it is desired to alloy the beryllium and aluminum. It will also be apparent that the beryllium content may be reduced in a similar Way by fractional reduction. In many cases it will probably be of advantage to employ iron in an intermediate stage of reduction, since iron constitutes a relatively inexpensive solvent. The ferrosilicon secured by the use of an iron bath in partially or wholly reducing the silicon may be recovered as a raw material and sometimes even directly as a final product, useful, for example, for transformer cores or similar articles.

I claim:-

1. A process for producing a beryllium alloy containing at least two ingredients in addition to beryllium, which includes bringing into reaction-with one another carbon and "an ore containing beryllium oxide and at least one additional alloying ingredient to cause the reduction of the beryllium oxide and of the alloying ingredient to the metallic state, the reaction being effected in contact with a molten bath, and at least in part displacing the atmosphere which would normally obtain by reason of the reduction so as to reduce the possibility of formation of beryllium carbide and the reformation of beryllium oxide.

2. A process for producing a silicon-berylliumcopper alloy which includes bringing into reaction with one another carbon and ,an ore containing beryllium oxide, aluminum oxide and silicic acid to cause the reduction of the beryllium oxide, aluminum oxide and the silicic acid to the metallic state, the reaction being effected in contact with a molten copper bath, and at least in part displacing the atmosphere which would normally obtain by reason of the reduction so as to reduce the possibility of formation of beryllium carbide and the reformation of beryllium oxide.

3. A processfor producing beryllium alloys which includes first bringing into reaction with one another, carbon and an ore containing beryllium oxide and an ingredient which is reducible at a temperature below the reduction temperature of beryllium oxide, the reaction being effected in contact with a molten metal bath at a temperature sufiiciently high to reduce said ingredient but below the temperature at which beryllium oxide is appreciably reduced; and at least in part displacing the atmosphere which would normally obtain by reason of the reduction so as to reduce the possibility of formation of beryllium carbide and the reformation of beryllium oxide; separating the molten bath and the reduced ingredient from the remaining slag; thereafter bringing into reaction with one another, carbon and said remaining slag in contact with a molten met-a1 bath at a temperature sufficiently high to reduce beryllium oxide; and at least in part displacing the atmosphere which would normally obtain by reason of the reduction so as to reduce the possibility of formation of beryllium carbide and the reformation of beryllium oxide.

4. A process for producing beryllium alloys containing at least two additional alloying ingredients from an ore containing beryllium oxide and at least one additional alloying ingredient which is reducible at a temperature below the reduction temperature of beryllium oxide, which method includes first partially reducing said ingredient by bringing said ore and carbon into reaction with one another in contact with a molten metal bath at a temperature sufliciently 'high to reduce said ingredient but below the temperature at which beryllium oxide is appreciably reduced; at least in part displacing the atmosphere which would normally obtain by reason of the reduction so as 'to reduce the possibility of formation of beryllium carbide and the reformation of beryllium oxide; separating the molten bath and the reduced portion of said ingredient from the remaining slag; thereafter bringing into reaction with one another, carbon and the remaining slag at a'temperature sumciently high to reduce beryllium oxide; and at least in part displacing the atmosphere which would normally obtain by reason of the reduction so as to reduce the possibility of formation of beryllium carbide and the reformation of beryllium oxide.

'W'ILHELM ROHN.

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